In anticipation of the forthcoming Glimpse issue on the theme of Blindness, we reflect on the societal contributions and civil rights of those born without, and those who have lost their eyesight, worldwide. Here in the United States, today, October 15, is Blind Americans Equality Day by resolution of the White House: “Today, let us recommit to ensuring we remain a Nation where all our people, including those with disabilities, have every opportunity to achieve their dreams.” We couldn’t agree more. Read the Full White House resolution below.

BLIND AMERICANS EQUALITY DAY, 2013
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Blind and visually impaired persons have always played an important role in American life and culture, and today we recommit to our goals of full access and opportunity. Whether sprinting across finish lines, leading innovation in business and government, or creating powerful music and art, blind and visually impaired Americans imagine and pursue ideas and goals that move our country forward. As a Nation, it is our task to ensure they can always access the tools and support they need to turn those ideas and goals into realities.

My Administration is committed to advancing opportunity for people with disabilities through the Americans with Disabilities Act and other important avenues. In June of this year, the United States joined with over 150 countries in approving a landmark treaty that aims to expand access for visually impaired persons and other persons with print disabilities to information, culture, and education. By facilitating access to books and other printed material, the treaty holds the potential to open up worlds of knowledge. If the United States becomes a party to this treaty, we can reduce the book famine that confronts the blind community while maintaining the integrity of the international copyright framework.

The United States was also proud to join 141 other countries in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, and we are working toward its ratification. Americans with Disabilities, including those who are blind or visually impaired, should have the same opportunities to work, study, and travel in other countries as any other American, and the Convention can help us realize that goal.

To create a more level playing field and ensure students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum, the Department of Education issued new guidance in June for the use of Braille as a literacy tool under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This guidance reaffirms my Administration’s commitment to using Braille to open doors for students who are blind or visually impaired, so every student has a chance to succeed in the classroom and graduate from high school prepared for college and careers.

We have come a long way in our journey toward a more perfect Union, but we still have work ahead. We must fulfill the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and expand the freedom to make of our lives what we will. On this day, we celebrate the accomplishments of our blind and visually impaired citizens, and we recommit to building a Nation where all Americans, including those who are blind or visually impaired, live with the assurance of equal opportunity and equal respect.
By joint resolution approved on October 6, 1964 (Public Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress designated October 15 of each year as “White Cane Safety Day” to recognize the contributions of Americans who are blind or have low vision. Today, let us recommit to ensuring we remain a Nation where all our people, including those with disabilities, have every opportunity to achieve their dreams.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 15, 2013, as Blind Americans Equality Day. I call upon public officials, business and community leaders, educators, librarians, and Americans across the country to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

Beyond the visual representations we see, are highly complex issues dealing with sociocultural discourses, politics, psychology, history, media and marketing; issues that profoundly affect how the posters are designed, which messages they carry, how they are perceived, and how effective they are. The visuals contribute on many levels to the cultural meanings associated with the multitude of HIV/AIDS epidemics, spanning across national, social, ethnic, religious, and sexual groupings. Not only does culture influence the design of campaigns, campaigns in turn influence the way in which HIV/AIDS is culturally understood. As a result, discrepancies exist between the general assumption that HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns are inherently benign, because they are designed to benefit the health of individuals and society; and the critique from a number of cultural critics and analysts who believe that the campaigns are in many ways coercive instruments of power, designed to control our sexual practices and perceptions of minority populations and people living with HIV/AIDS.1,2,3,4

What follows is a discussion of a selection of the many complexities which lie behind the visual language of HIV/AIDS awareness posters.

Cultural Representations

It has been noted that in western countries since the mid-1990s the focus has shifted from the domestic epidemics to the African epidemic.5 As the visibility of HIV/AIDS within western countries themselves has diminished, the visibility of the African (Caribbean, Papua New Guinean…) ‘other’ with AIDS has increased; as one critic argues: “the image of African women who get HIV/AIDS from their unfaithful partners, then pass the disease along to their innocent babies, evokes more empathy than the faces of those who comprise the domestic epidemic.”6 Through benevolent charity appeals (e.g. Figure 1) and media representations we thus project HIV/AIDS onto ‘helpless’ and ‘hopeless’ Africans, and in this way ‘our’ safety is reaffirmed by gazing at the suffering of others in far off places;7 what Stuart Hall describes as ‘the spectacle of the other.’8 When viewing posters that are meant as charity appeals, one might question how the visual language is impacting on our perception of those for whom the appeal is issued?

When viewing international collections of HIV/AIDS posters, one immediately notes the differences between the visual language and messages displayed in western and non-western cultures. Though they were produced as serious vehicles of communication within their specific culture, posters from non-western countries might seem fascinating, curious, humorous, exotic, or even naïve to western eyes. These posters, however, tend to display a frankness and practicality surrounding the issue not present in many western campaigns, which frequently tend to be more focused on clever design, subtle messages and advertising strategies. The woman in Figure 2, for instance, simply states, “I know you are not faithful,” while Figure 3 pragmatically asks, “if I am infected by the AIDS virus then who will catch the fish?” What might western campaigns look like if they implemented a similarly matter-of-fact approach?

Body Representations

Cultural historian Sander L. Gilman has suggested that there is a curious absence of ill and dying bodies in HIV prevention campaigns.9 He notes that even the body with AIDS is portrayed as attractive and beautiful, showing no physical signs of disease (see for example Figure 4). He also points out that death is only present through symbolism, for instance in the form of skulls, skeletons, or tombstones, not through representations of the dying or dead body. Figure 5 illustrates this point clearly; it features a skull made up of beautiful bodies. Some exceptions exist, such as the (in)famous United Colors of Benetton advertisement, featuring a man dying of AIDS (Figure 6).10 Furthermore, in developing countries the ill body is more prevalent (e.g. Figure 7); perhaps because people there are to a larger extent visibly ill and dying of AIDS, compared to western countries with better access to HIV treatment. When viewing the exhibition, one might ask, how the absence of ill bodies and prevalence of attractive bodies affects our perceptions of HIV/AIDS? What does the symbolism of death, as opposed to actual discussion of the contemporary lived experience of HIV/AIDS, do to our beliefs about the epidemic?

Fear

Fear appeals can be defined as “persuasive messages that emphasize the harmful physical or social consequences of failing to comply with message recommendations.”11 Though much research has been done to determine the effectiveness of fear-based strategies in HIV prevention the results are inconclusive.12,13 Much of the research, however, seems to suggest that if fear is to have any positive effect the message must include certain components: 1) the threat must be perceived as likely and relevant to the viewer; 2) the viewer must believe that he or she has the ability to follow the message recommendation; and 3) he or she must believe that the recommendation will eliminate or reduce the threat. Some argue that if used incorrectly fear appeals are not only ineffective, but they may in fact be counterproductive.14,15 These are elements worth considering when viewing those posters in the exhibition that use fear as a strategy. For example, when examining Figure 8 and 9 one might ask: What are the consequences implied by the posters, and are these likely and realistic – e.g. does AIDS still equal death in western Europe as Figure 5 implies? Is it clear what the threat is and how it applies to the viewer? Is it clear what the viewer must do to avoid the threat of AIDS? Is it clear how these recommendations reduce or eliminate the threat?

Figure 9: “AIDS, the Killing Bite of Love,” The Netherlands, 1993.

Social Marketing

Increasingly those producing HIV/AIDS awareness graphics are incorporating “the use of marketing to design and implement programs to promote socially beneficial behavior change”;16 this has been termed ‘social marketing’. The premise being that rather than promoting a commercial product, a ‘social product’ is being promoted.17 One might say that in the case of HIV/AIDS the advertisements aim at ‘selling’ safer sex. This often means that HIV/AIDS awareness posters look similar to commercial advertising posters. For instance, chiefly display ‘ideal’ attractive bodies (e.g. Figure 10). Furthermore, in contrast to fear appeals that highlight the negative aspects of not using condoms, they highlight the positive aspects of condom use (safe sex is ‘sexy’, ‘fun’, ‘titillating’, ‘reassuring’, etc.) (e.g. Figure 11); or they use humor to capture the viewer’s attention (e.g. Figure 12). But how does the idea that health promotion graphics must compete with commercial advertising impact on the way in which the visual narrative of HIV/AIDS is told? Is it an advantage or disadvantage that they blend in or stand out from the plethora of advertising messages in the public sphere?

Though these are but a few of the many questions and issues connected to HIV/AIDS awareness posters, they give a small insight into the complexities that lie behind the representations we see, and perhaps allow us to explore the posters anew. For those unable to visit the exhibition in person, the excellent website allows for extensive online viewing of the exhibition.

Louise Kolff is a PhD candidate at the College of Fine Arts and the National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. Her article, “Dilemmas of Claiming Ownership in an Epidemic,” appeared in GLIMPSE issue #1, Is the Visual Political? in November 2008.